Beverage conditioner



Dec. 25, 1956 o. E. NORBERG 2,775,430

BEVERAGE CONDITIONER Filed March 30, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Q. E. NORBERG.

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent BEVERAGE CONDITIONER Oscar E. Norberg, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Avco Manufacturing Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application March 30, 1955, Serial No. 497,904

3 Claims. (Cl. 257-3) This invention relates to refrigerator cabinets and, more particularly, to a means for utilizing additional storage space in an area that is normally too cold for use.

In a refrigerator having the principal evaporator disposed at the bottom of the cabinet, there is created a very cold zone adjacent to it at the bottom of the cabinet door. To alleviate this situation and render this zone usable for storage purposes requires extensive insulation of the evaporator and elaborate seals for its access door. This considerably reduces the usable space and excessively increases the cost.

An object of this invention is to render usable for storage the bottom portion of the inside of the door of a refrigerator cabinet when the evaporator is disposed at the bottom of the cabinet.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means for variably controlling the temperature at the bottom interior region of a refrigerator cabinet door.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a means for controlling the temperature of a storage area adjacent the access door of a refrigerator cabinet.

And still another object of this invention is to provide a means for controlling the temperature adjacent a storage rack attached to the interior of the access door of a refrigerator cabinet.

The novel features that I consider characteristic of my invention are set forth in the appended claims; the invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator cabinet embodying the invention adjacent the bottom shelf of the access door;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a wiring schematic of the electrical circuit.

This invention consists of a simple and effective means for making the entire refrigerator cabinet door usable for storage of food products and, more particularly, rendering usable a shelf at the very bottom of the door. This is accomplished by providing electrical heaters adjacent the area where the controlled temperature is desired.

Said heaters are connected to a source of electrical energy and are controlled by an adjustable thermostat.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a refrigerator cabinet 1 having an outer shell 3 and an inner lining 5 spaced from shell 3 enclosing a main refrigerated food storage compartment 7. Compartment. '7 may be refrigerated in any suitable manner by means of evaporator 9. A main access door 11 is provided for cabinet 7 and an evaporator door 13 is provided for evaporator 9.

Access door 11 is formed of an inner panel 15 and an outer shell 17 spaced from the liner with insulation therebetween. A plurality of shelves 19 for the storage of 2,775,430 Patented Dec. 25, 1956 foodstuffs are mounted on the panel 15. A beverage storage shelf 21 is likewise mounted on the panel. This shelf 21 is adjacent to evaporator 9 when door 11 is closed.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, a resistance wire heating element 23 is in thermal contact with panel 15 and thermal conducting element retaining strip 25. Element 23 is in electrical connection with an adjustable bi-metal temperature sensitive thermostat 27. Thermostat 27 is secured in thermal contact with mounting bracket 29, which is likewise secured in thermal contact with panel 15. Thus, the thermostat senses the temperature of the panel in the vicinity of the attachment of bracket 29 to control the operation of element 23.

A shaft protective tube 31 is secured to liner 15 by means of an integral bead 33, a washer 35 abutting the bead and panel 15, a friction fastener 37 gripping tube 31 and abutting panel 15 at the face opposite washer 35. A control shaft 39 is in engagement at one of its ends with thermostat 27 and has a control handle 41 secured to its other end for adjusting the temperature response of said thermostat 27. This shaft is employed in this embodiment to position the control handle 41 in front of the contents of the shelf 21 and the front support rails 43 for easy access. Tube 31 likewise acts as a spacer between temperature dial 45 and panel 15.

Referring to Fig. 3, electrical contacts 47 are connected to a suitable source of electrical energy. The flow of current through a resistance wire heater 23 is controlled by the temperature responsive bi-metal thermostat 27.

With the advent of the bottom-mounted evaporator in a refrigerator cabinet, it was found through experimentation that the cold air from this evaporator kept the bottom shelf of the access door at such a low temperature that it became unusable for storing foodstuffs that would be damaged if frozen. Cold air settles in this area and, being near the bottom of the cabinet, no convection currents are established to raise its temperature. This problem was non-existent when the evaporator was mounted in the top of the refrigerator cabinet, since cold air from the evaporator soon was mixed with Warmer, ambient air in the main food storage compartment. Thus, none of the foodstuffs stored either in the main food storage compartment or on the shelves were subjected to temperatures below freezing.

Thus, to make the area at the bottom of the door adjacent the bottom-mounted evaporator usable, some means was necessary for raising the temperature in that region. The present invention represents a solution to this serious problem. Some evidence of the utility and novelty of this invention can be gained when it is realized that other refrigerators of this type utilizing bottom-mounted evaporators have not provided any facilities for the storage of food in this region at the bottom of the access door because of this extreme cold condition.

By this invention, a simple means has been provided for controlling the temperature above that normally attained in the lower area of a refrigerator access door.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. in combination, a refrigerator cabinet, a main refrigerated food storage compartment within said cabinet, an evaporator Within the lower portion of said compartment, an access door for said compartment, said door having an outer shell, an inner panel of said door spaced from said shell, insulation between said shell and said panel, said panel having a food storage area in open communication with the lower portion of said refrigerated compartment and located adjacent said evaporator, an electrical resistance heating means in thermal contact with said panel contiguous said food storage area, a thermostatic switch in electrical connection with and controlling the operation of said heating means, said switch mounted on a heat-conducting bracket, said bracket being in thermal contact with said panel adjacent said food storage area whereby said thermostat is responsive only to the temperature of said food storage area, said switch having means for varying its response temperature, said last-named means being adjusted by an extension shaft, said panel having a hole therein adjacent said switch, said extension shaft extending through said hole, and a control knob on said shaft.

2. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet, a main refrigerated food storage compartment within said cabinet, an evaporator within the lower portion of said compartment, an access door for said compartment, said door having an outer shell, an inner panel for said door spaced from said shell, said panel having a food storage area in open communication with the lower portion of said refrigerated compartment and located adjacent said evaporator, an electrical resistance heating means in thermal contact with said panel contiguous said food storage area, a thermostatic switch in electrical connection with and controlling only said heating means, said switch being in thermal contact with said panel adjacent said food storage area and responsive only to the temperature thereof, said switch having means for varying its response temperature.

3. A refrigerator comprising a main refrigerated food storage compartment, an evaporator in the lower portion of said compartment, a movable access door for said compartment, said door having an inner panel, food storage shelf on said panel adjacent said evaporator, said shelf being in open communication with said refrigerated compartment heating means adjacent said shelf, a thermostat responsive only to the temperature of the area adjacent said shelf, said thermostat being operatively connected for controlling the heat output of said heating means, and means for varying the response temperature of said thermostat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

